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- November 9, 2018 at 8:08 pm #484324
Textbook is a waste of time. Throw it in the bin if you use it you will most likely fail
November 9, 2018 at 8:07 pm #484323Being able to do the calcs in p5 is not important. Do not spend more than 10% of your total revision time doing calcs, it is a waste of time
November 9, 2018 at 7:54 pm #484321Move down to London 😉
November 9, 2018 at 7:32 pm #484320I self studied afm and apm in one sitting while working full time.
It isn’t difficult, you need to be committed and a clear plan. Throw your textbooks in the bin, read the examiners reports and practice every single past question for the left 8 papers minimum and you will pass easy.
I managed to get my highest marks in these last papers. My exam technique on papers prior to this was terrible and in hindsight I wasted too much time reading the text book and barely any on the past questions.
Also, a lot of people will discourage you from sitting 2 papers (see post above). Ignore them.
May 30, 2018 at 10:01 am #454831As many as possible.
My question practice was perhaps a little different from others. I didn’t usually write answers but instead would analyse the requirement and split it into its various components and work out what topics of the syllabus it was covering then check this information against the examiners answer from the ACCA website. This would allow me to see the sort of answer the examiner is after in terms of structure and content of the answer.
Re the topics EVA, ROI, transfer pricing, ABC – don’t get obsessed by trying to get the calculations write. Find past papers in which those topics have been tested and look at what sort of non calculation questions the examiner has tested and as above, analyse the requirement and answer structure/content referring back to the scenario to see where examiner has mentioned it in his answer. Note that he will not simply just copy from the scenario but explain implications and why it is important etc.
May 24, 2018 at 11:59 am #453730@sambathkun said:
That’s true. I completed every parts of the questions in March exam and still fail.
i found out my mains pitfalls was : 1-Mis read the scenario and requirement (most of the time i find them very confusion, not sure of what they examiner is asking for) and 2-Difficult to form the appropriate answer.
Anyway, currently, i try to practice the past exams and study the question requirements for ths Jun exam. However, some basic knowlegde still lack of, especially on the iT system parts.Wish u and i pass this jun exam.
up to 20% of the marks in this paper will be given for knowledge
the rest is application
practice reading and breaking down the requirement for each question
each part of a question has at least 2 requirements, break it down and make sure you attempt to answer all of them. Looking at your mark and what you have written here, I feel this might be holding you back in passing
May 22, 2018 at 2:47 pm #453377@sokty said:
It should be 1.25 pages per 10 marks. However, specifically, how many sentences to gain 1 mark? I have noticed examiner’s marking scheme is not clear in the past exam answer. Please advise.Read my tips in the other P5 forum
May 22, 2018 at 2:44 pm #453376@puffvivi said:
After these years, students still don’t get what he wants.
Then he should examine himself that did he tell us properly what he wants?Have you read the examiners reports and/or examiners articles?
Lesson in there.
May 22, 2018 at 2:41 pm #453373@essem said:
For March 2018 exams I took P4 and P5. Early on I decided that most of time should be directed towards P4 given the amount of knowledge\calculations. From January 2018 to the date of exam my time was split 75% P4 and 25% P5My approach to P5
1. Throw away your study text.
2. Read opentuition notes, I didn’t bother with the videos. I would dedicate 10-15 hours to this in total. Do not try to understand everything as I would recommend reviewing notes after attempting questions.
3. Most of your time, around 70% of it should be spent attempting questions. Personally I would practice questions taken from past papers on the acca website. I would also read the relevant examiners report for each exam, before and after attempting the paper. Ask yourself have you taken on board the guidance in the report.
4. When attempting the question, before reading the scenarios, read all the requirements first. Key to passing the exam is understanding what the examiner is asking for.An example, taken from the examiners report for the last exam March 2018:
“Part (ii) required an evaluation of the current performance dashboard in measuring the
achievement of the local government’s and waste management department’s aims. This was a
basic test of the candidates’ ability to interpret a dashboard and link it to the strategy of an
organisation and was generally done well. There were a number of candidates who did not
respond to the question asked and instead, evaluated the performance of the company (rather
than the dashboard) or else failed to link the dashboard to the aims.”The examiner asked for an evaluation of the current performance dashboard.
Most people that failed would have evaluated the current performance and would have scored 0 marks.Also, carefully read the question as all questions contain more than 1 requirement and will carry equal marks. Ignoring part of requirement will reduce the marks available to you by 2 or 3 times.
5. When reviewing your answers to past papers, check the examiners answers and try to see how he has applied the scenario to his answer. Using the scenario in the your answer is essential. Everything in the scenario has been included for a reason and using this in your answer is a skill that needs to be developed and practiced during your question practice.
6. Basic structure of an answer should be
“relevant information to question from scenario” + “this is what the information means” + “justification” of why it is important. This should be around 2 or 3 sentences.7. Do not write big paragraphs. As per point 6. each point should be 2 or 3 sentences long and should be its own individual paragraph. Have a new point to make? Start a new paragraph.
8. Time pressure in the exam is an illusion. We are aiming 50% and therefore should be aiming to make 60 points in the exam. As per point 6. each point should be 2 or 3 sentences long which should take 2 minutes to write. 2 min per point * 60 points = 120 minutes. Spend about 20-25 minutes reading the scenario. The remaining time should be spent carefully thinking about what you are going to write and whether it is relevant/answering the question.
9. Do not obsess over the calculations in this module. Spend 10-15 hours going over these during revision to understand how to do them. More important is understanding what they mean and interpreting the results. This also applies during the exam, do not spend time trying to get the calculations perfect, allocate time and move on. In the March 2018 exam I messed up the EVA calculation yet still managed to score 70% in the exam overall
Most important post in the P5 forum.
Few students will realise this.
April 19, 2018 at 10:35 am #448121Stick with P5.
P4 can be done within 6 weeks if you use a paid for revision course but it will cause you major stress
April 19, 2018 at 10:20 am #448118P5 is easy, it is the students that are difficult
April 18, 2018 at 12:11 pm #447970@samie said:
Hi Essem,Congratulation passing P5. Will you be kind enough to share your study methods and any study materials you have used.
Greatly appreciated!!!For March 2018 exams I took P4 and P5. Early on I decided that most of time should be directed towards P4 given the amount of knowledge\calculations. From January 2018 to the date of exam my time was split 75% P4 and 25% P5
My approach to P5
1. Throw away your study text.
2. Read opentuition notes, I didn’t bother with the videos. I would dedicate 10-15 hours to this in total. Do not try to understand everything as I would recommend reviewing notes after attempting questions.
3. Most of your time, around 70% of it should be spent attempting questions. Personally I would practice questions taken from past papers on the acca website. I would also read the relevant examiners report for each exam, before and after attempting the paper. Ask yourself have you taken on board the guidance in the report.
4. When attempting the question, before reading the scenarios, read all the requirements first. Key to passing the exam is understanding what the examiner is asking for.An example, taken from the examiners report for the last exam March 2018:
“Part (ii) required an evaluation of the current performance dashboard in measuring the
achievement of the local government’s and waste management department’s aims. This was a
basic test of the candidates’ ability to interpret a dashboard and link it to the strategy of an
organisation and was generally done well. There were a number of candidates who did not
respond to the question asked and instead, evaluated the performance of the company (rather
than the dashboard) or else failed to link the dashboard to the aims.”The examiner asked for an evaluation of the current performance dashboard.
Most people that failed would have evaluated the current performance and would have scored 0 marks.Also, carefully read the question as all questions contain more than 1 requirement and will carry equal marks. Ignoring part of requirement will reduce the marks available to you by 2 or 3 times.
5. When reviewing your answers to past papers, check the examiners answers and try to see how he has applied the scenario to his answer. Using the scenario in the your answer is essential. Everything in the scenario has been included for a reason and using this in your answer is a skill that needs to be developed and practiced during your question practice.
6. Basic structure of an answer should be
“relevant information to question from scenario” + “this is what the information means” + “justification” of why it is important. This should be around 2 or 3 sentences.7. Do not write big paragraphs. As per point 6. each point should be 2 or 3 sentences long and should be its own individual paragraph. Have a new point to make? Start a new paragraph.
8. Time pressure in the exam is an illusion. We are aiming 50% and therefore should be aiming to make 60 points in the exam. As per point 6. each point should be 2 or 3 sentences long which should take 2 minutes to write. 2 min per point * 60 points = 120 minutes. Spend about 20-25 minutes reading the scenario. The remaining time should be spent carefully thinking about what you are going to write and whether it is relevant/answering the question.
9. Do not obsess over the calculations in this module. Spend 10-15 hours going over these during revision to understand how to do them. More important is understanding what they mean and interpreting the results. This also applies during the exam, do not spend time trying to get the calculations perfect, allocate time and move on. In the March 2018 exam I messed up the EVA calculation yet still managed to score 70% in the exam overall
April 16, 2018 at 4:42 pm #447478Passed first time with 70% despite messing up the eva calculation. Spent around 40 hours working for this exam.
April 16, 2018 at 4:39 pm #447472@laima522 said:
I spent a lot of time to learn ratios and when is the best to apply and why. I think it is critical for P5 paper as in every exam one or two questions are based on ratios, Eva, NPV and etc.Spending a lot of time revising ratios is not very good use of your time given there will be maximum 5-10 marks for this.
By this time in your studies, ratios should be second nature
March 7, 2018 at 4:09 pm #441074The likelihood is most of us will have failed
December 10, 2016 at 5:52 pm #363148What part of question 32 did people calculate profitability index for?
June 4, 2014 at 10:41 pm #174014take a break and find a job
June 4, 2014 at 10:32 pm #174010jackson, you aren’t supposed to write in the margins anyway, they get chopped off
June 4, 2014 at 10:25 pm #174005call them up
June 4, 2014 at 3:31 pm #173770omfg just saw the note under the table about the % contribution per sales
hate this examiner
although to be fair should have spent maximum of 7 minutes on question 4
June 4, 2014 at 3:11 pm #173763So sales mix is 150,757 – 175,800
and sales quantity (7980-5600)*0.472June 4, 2014 at 12:49 am #173499Jay
No one in this thread will give you a balanced and reasoned argument, everyone is clearly pro self study.
Sure, like.this thread claims, you can pass acca exams with just self study. But this statement doesn’t help anyone. I have self studied for the first 5 exams but for December 2014 I will attend classes. The content in the remaining F level exams look straightforward and includes content I studied at university, much like the F exams I have completed already. However it’s pretty clear to me that the key to success is exam technique. The exams are fairly time pressured. A lot of people look at the exam paper favourably during the 15 minutes reading time but opinions change quickly one those 3 hours are over. Reading the paper, approaching the question, preparing a plan, efficiently converting plan into an answer and presenting it to the marker in a clear and logical format. This is a skill that can be developed in 2 ways. Trial and error through self study of text book, open tuition lectures and practice questions in the exam kit. People spend hours on this combination yet still fall short when comparing results to effort. The content is there in the material but there is a lack of skill in how to apply it. Trial and error will help develop this skill but without the feedback and engagement of a classroom, it will take an incredibly long time.
Read the study text, attend classes and learn from a qualified tutor, with knowledge and methodologies developed by completing the qualification, working in industry and teaching many students of varying ability. Trial and error still applies but the rate at which you will learn, improve and apply is almost instant compared to only finding out 2 months after sitting the exam. Using an exam kit on its own won’t achieve the same results. How much can you improve comparing practice questions written in exam conditions to a textbook answer that took double the time, using twice as many words? The answer is very little. The answers aren’t geared towards showing the student how to incrementally gain the marks bit rather a blanket, cover all list of possible responses.
It goes without saying that classes aren’t a magic bullet and you still need to put extra hours in covering material independently. Time is being used more efficenctly, less focus on learning the study text, most of which will never be examined, more energy in how to pass the exams.
I find it incredibly amusing that purple here look down on students and approved education providers. Many seem to think self study produces a qualified accountant with better knowledge. All I know for certain is they will take longer to complete their exams and score lower on average than a course attender.
Maybe there are fewer gaps in their knowledge but there is so much material on this qualification you will never ever use in a working environment. Give me the critical thinking skills, methodology in approaching different situations and the ability to communicate effectively with anyone.
Two things that constrain almost everyone when deciding what route to take; time and money. Restricting one in preference of the other will ultimately effect your results and as we all know there are other ways to measure your performance than simply pass or fail.
June 3, 2014 at 10:12 pm #173470Feel sorry for anyone that has to take an exam there
June 3, 2014 at 10:10 pm #173469i usually go to the pub
June 3, 2014 at 9:42 pm #173463Divyx Q3 the first part you just had to computer the gain, literally selling price less costs
Q5 what did you value the property at?
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